


Being In Love

by camichats



Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, F/M, First Dates, Getting Together, Past Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:28:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22211065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: Geralt and Renfri have been friends for years, so when he asks her to see a movie with him, she doesn't realize it's supposed to be a date.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Renfri | Shrike
Comments: 12
Kudos: 78





	Being In Love

**Author's Note:**

> The past non-con is v brief, blink and you miss it. I don't know why I've written another college au but lol here we are.

Realizing she was in love with Geralt was less ' _oh_ ' and more 'ah shit'. That's literally what she thought when she realized it. Jaskier had been rehearsing his lines, and when he asked Geralt if he thought it was funny, he'd just hmm'd. Renfri had laughed at that, and that was when it hit her: she was in love with him. Ah shit. Plenty of people fell in love with Geralt, and he'd turned them all down. He hadn't given a reason, and as far as she knew, he wasn't aro. He just... hadn't been interested. She was his best friend, sure, but that was because she hadn't looked at him and fallen immediately in lust so he gave their possible friendship a try and here they were. With her in the exact position she didn't want to be in. 

She was in the coffee shop where Yennefer worked now-- managed technically, though how she got that position after only working there for six months, Renfri had no idea-- with her laptop open as she kept a careful eye on the bid for a set of daggers. She didn't care about all of them, just that one stiletto dagger with the red jewel on the end. She'd probably turn around and resell the others if she won this-- which she was _determined_ to do. 

Geralt took the seat next to her, and she didn't think anything about it; they always sat next to each other. "Black Swan's out," he said as he reached into his bag his own computer. 

"I saw." Damn, someone just raised the bid by fifty bucks. Was this person made of money? She glared at the screen as she entered a new amount. If her parents hadn't left all their money to her when they died, she'd be so screwed right now. 

"Want to go tonight?" 

"What time?" She had to get up early tomorrow to meet with her Women in Medieval History teacher, so she didn't want to be out too late. Dr. de Vries was a great professor, but she could be a little ruthless if she thought Renfri wasn’t paying complete attention to her. 

"Seven." 

"Sure." 

Geralt plugged in his charger and opened it up, scowling at the world at large as he worked on his essay. 

"Hello friends!" Jaskier proclaimed, throwing his bag on the table and sitting across from them, his elbow resting on the table so he could lean his head into his hand. "How are we this fine afternoon?" 

"Busy," Geralt and Renfri said at the same time. 

"Are you messaging each other?" he asked, peering over to try and see what was on their screens. Geralt flicked him in the nose. "Oh alright, keep your secrets." He rubbed at his nose and sat back down. "Any plans tonight?" 

"We're going to see Black Swan," Renfri said, refreshing the page to make sure she hadn't been outbid again. 

"Sounds like fun, can I come?" 

"No," Geralt said immediately. Renfri glanced at him but didn't comment. As much as they joked about Jaskier talking too much, they'd all gone to the movies before. 

"What? Why not?" 

Geralt just glared at him. 

"Fine. Fine, leave me alone on a Friday night like a pathetic loser with no friends." 

"No," Yennefer said, appearing behind him and making him jump, "you're a pathetic loser with almost three friends. Why are they leaving you alone on a Friday night?" 

"They're going to see Black Swan, and I'm not invited." 

"Black Swan?" she repeated, perking up. 

"You're not invited either," Geralt said, before she could say anything further. 

She pouted, but he was unmoved. "Fine. I just need to finish up inventory in the storeroom and then I'll be done." 

Renfri didn't think anything of it at the time-- too busy winning the auction! She paid through the nose for it, but by Lilit that dagger was worth it-- but once she was back in her apartment, she frowned. Geralt often acted like he didn't want any friends, but he never refused plans outright unless he had a reason. He must have a reason for this, but she didn't know what the hell that could be. So something about this must be different. Did he need to tell her something? Oh fuck he's dying. Wait, no. Geralt wouldn't tell anyone he was dying until he was already dead. Safe there, but did he still need to break some sort of news? But that didn't make sense either. People found things out about him, he didn't volunteer the information. Hell, Renfri hadn't known his parents were dead until she'd tried to invite them to Geralt's birthday party-- a party he'd protested but had fun at all the same, thank you very much. 

She was overthinking this, nothing was going on. Yennefer and Jaskier could both be assholes to watch movies with, sometimes it was fine, other times it wasn't and clearly this was one of the latter. 

And that belief stayed with her until Geralt showed up at her apartment. Dressed up. He was wearing a button-up. And Jaskier hadn't bribed him. He'd combed his hair to resemble something neat, and he was even wearing jeans that were free of holes or grease stains from where he worked. Suddenly, her haphazard ponytail at the base of her neck and the hoodie seemed terribly inappropriate. 

"I wasn't paying attention to the time," she lied. "Let me change real quick." 

He nodded and took a seat on the couch, arms crossed over his chest for lack of anything else to do. 

First thing, she took out the elastic and ran her fingers through her hair. She ducked into her room and pulled off her hoodie and t-shirt, throwing it carelessly on the ground. She had a date night shirt around here somewhere, she just needed to find it. She opened her closet, grabbed the first dressy shirt she saw and put it on. She finished buttoning it, then glanced in the mirror and grimaced. This was the shirt she wore when Yennefer dragged her to parties. Translucent white with big red rose designs and little ruffles to make up the capped sleeves. It might be a button up, but it was low cut by design. She thought about changing again, but she wasn't going to risk them being late; this would have to do. 

She headed back into the living room, so busy messing with her hair to make sure it wasn't caught in the collar, that she missed the _interested_ look Geralt gave her new outfit. God was this a date? She hadn't prepared herself for a date. At all. Much less one with Geralt. What did Geralt even do on dates? Hell, what did _she_ do on dates? She'd been on one since starting college, and then she hadn't trusted anyone for a while. If this was in fact a date, it would be her first in over two years. Maybe she should ask, make sure. 

Except then Geralt _held the car door open for her_ , and that had to mean this was a date, right? He never did that normally. When they got to the theater, he paid for both their tickets even though they had a longstanding agreement to pay for their outings separately. And _then_ they were in line, waiting for that screening to open, and he cleared his throat and said, "You look nice." 

"Oh. Um, thanks." She had definitely chosen the wrong shirt for this. "You look nice too." That sounded insincere, so she added, "I didn't know you had pants that clean." 

He snorted, and this was more normal footing. "I never wear them." 

"They make your ass look pretty phenomenal." 

"My goal in life," he said drily. 

"I'm just saying. You're guaranteed to get laid if you go on a date wearing them." Damn. She used to be suave, can you believe that? If they were definitely here as friends though, that would've been a perfectly fine thing to say. 

"Hm," he said, but it was noncommittal. God damn it, this was a date and she’d just said _that_.

Someone in line was eyeing her a little too much, and she shifted, putting an arm around Geralt's waist. He didn't pause, his arm going over her shoulders automatically. It was a common bit they did, since Geralt was intimidating enough that no one wanted to risk hitting on his girlfriend. Of course, now that they were (probably) on a date, it only served to make her heartbeat quicken instead of easing her mind. 

They got into their seats without further incident, and she shivered. She knew that movie theaters were cold, and she hadn’t brought a jacket. Unprompted, Geralt put his arm back around her and pulled her close, his body a line of heat against hers. The music started playing, the lights dimmed, and the movie began. 

The boss of the ballet showed up, and Renfri leaned in to whisper, "He's a predator." 

"Yeah." 

She didn't bother to move back into her own seat because Geralt was plenty comfortable to lean on. Hell, over the course of their friendship she'd learned that he didn't make a bad pillow, either. A couple minutes later, she was proven right about the character, not that it was a surprise. She snorted, tucking hair behind her ear from where it had fallen out when she moved. 

They walked out of the theater, not knowing exactly what they had watched. "That was..." 

"Weird," Geralt supplied, and she nodded. 

"Good, but weird. And I could have done without the assault plot points." 

"Unnecessary," he grunted. See, it's stuff like that they made them such great friends. 

They got back to her apartment, and Geralt hovered awkwardly in the doorway like he wasn't sure if he needed an official invitation or not. "Get in here, Witcher," she said, rolling her eyes. "You've been here a hundred times." It was a bit different since they'd just gone on a date, but for the most part it was the same. He was still her best friend, and she was still perfectly comfortable around him. 

"Hmm." He stepped in and closed the door, but he was staying near the entrance instead of making himself at home like he normally did. 

Renfri sighed. "It's the shirt isn't it?" 

Geralt said nothing, but it was enough. 

"I didn't know it was a date until you showed up. I grabbed the first thing I saw," she said with a shrug. 

"Hmm." 

"Oh don't give me that, I was happy to go on a date with you, I just didn't know that's what it was. You want a beer?" 

"Yeah." At the offer, he started acting normally, taking the bottle from her and sitting on the couch. "Weird movie." 

"I was hoping for a little more dancing, but I should've known better. It's not like Portman's a dancer, she's an actress." 

"A good one." 

"A good one," Renfri agreed, "but not a ballerina. The whole rivalry plotline seemed... contrived." 

He grunted in agreement, taking a sip. "Good effects." 

"Damn good effects," she said. 

Everything was normal. That leading to them fucking on her bed, well, that was less normal. But it was also a sight better than talking about a movie neither of them had loved. 

* * *

"What the _fuck_ ," she spit as a loud, persistent noise woke her up. 

It took Geralt a second to be awake enough to form words, but when he did, it was one word, more of a groan than a word, "Jaskier." 

"He's calling you? This early?" Then, "Why the hell is that your ringtone for him?" She picked up the phone, slid it to answer and said, "Fuck off!" and hung up. She sighed in relief at the blessed silence that followed. 

Only for twenty seconds, when the phone started going off again. Geralt answered it this time, leaning over her as she covered her ears and wondered how long it would take for her to go completely mad. "What," he growled. 

He was close enough-- and the room was quiet enough-- that she could hear Jaskier's side of the conversation as well. " _Was that a woman answering your phone? Two questions for you, Mister Geralt: since when do you do hook ups and who is she that you've stayed the night?_ " 

"Jaskier," he said warningly. 

" _Oh alright, but I will get the answers out of you eventually._ " 

"Get to the point." 

" _Can you pick me up? Well, me and Yennefer. We're too drunk to drive._ " 

"Call a cab." 

" _I can't find my wallet and the she-witch claims she can't find hers. Personally, I think she's cheap._ " 

Geralt groaned, head dropping to the pillow. Renfri pat him in commiseration. 

" _Great! We're at the Cintra sorority house_." 

He sighed. Of course that's where they were. Calanthe had banned him from going in. While he had no intention of going inside, she'd probably take it as him picking a fight if he showed up on her lawn. "Be outside." 

" _Thaaaank you Geralt, you're my hero!_ " 

Geralt humphed and hung up. 

Renfri rubbed at her face, trying to will wakefulness into being. 

"Jaskier's an idiot," he grumbled. He pushed himself up. "See you tomorrow." 

"I'll come with you," she said, talking around her yawn. She made to get up, and he gently pushed her back down. 

"You have to get up early." 

"I'm already up," she argued, but when he kissed her forehead and got to his feet, she didn't try to follow. It's not like Geralt _needed_ help, and she was going to have to wake up again in four hours. "Call if you need a save." 

Geralt snorted, imagining how that rescue would take place. 

"And-" she had to stop to yawn widely "-I'll see you tomorrow."


End file.
